Neither LeBron James nor Kobe Bryant: Luka Doncic joins Lakers royalty in fifth game

Luka Doncic’s first appearance against former team the Dallas Mavericks was a triumphant one, with the Los Angeles Lakers prevailing 107-99 at Crypto.com Arena in what had been dubbed a “revenge” game following the Texans’ decision to trade the guard to California.

The clearly emotional Slovenian didn’t appear to be overly happy with his personal performance if his postgame interview with the TNT Postgame Show was anything to go by, saying “I couldn’t make nothing today” and “I tried some different stuff, it didn’t work in this game”.

Doncic joins Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Admittedly, Doncic’s tally of 19 points was well below his average of 28.6 per game since he moved to the NBA in 2018. However, he still managed to record a triple-double (19 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists), helping take him into an exclusive Lakers club.

In just his fifth game for the franchise against the Mavericks, Doncic became the first Laker since the legendary Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who retired from playing in 1989, to register 15+ points, 15+ rebounds, 10+ assists, 2+ steals and 2+ blocks in the same game. A feat not even LeBron James nor Kobe Bryant have achieved.

Luka Doncic finds form with the Lakers

Upon his return from a calf injury, the Slovenian made a relatively low-key start to his time alongside James with the Lakers, averaging fewer than 15 points per game in his first three appearances.

However, after sitting out the win over the Portland Trail Blazers, Doncic hit his stride in the weekend victory against the Denver Nuggets (32 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and four steals) and now appears to be finding his feet in purple and gold.

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